... in recent months, tech earnings have plummeted as tech companies have reported slower growth or declines. Venture capital has fallen almost 7 percent this year. Tech mergers and acquisitions have tumbled. And tech stocks have lagged the broader stock market this year. As of early August, the S&P 500 was up 19.68 percent, but tech stocks in the index were up only 11.1 percent, one of the lowest-performing categories.

So what's going on? Is it the natural Hayekian boom-and-bust cycle? Have crazy tech growth and profits just become the new normal? Is it the global economic recession? Have we all just gotten tired of the hot new app or tablet? There doesn’t seem to be a clear answer.

"What I've seen is that a lot of the tech heavyweights are having challenges," Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, told the Times. "There's a fundamental shift in the marketplace that many people are grappling with. What we're seeing is a transitional period."

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